The Real Deal New York

Boutique hotel planned for site adjacent to historic Williamsburgh Savings building

A 250-room hotel will go up next to the historic Williamsburgh Savings Bank building in Brooklyn, a spokesperson for the developer, Juan Figueroa, confirmed to The Real Deal today.

The hotel is still in the early planning stages but should rise 40 stories on a site adjacent to the old bank building, at 175 Broadway, which has undergone an extensive renovation and will open later this year as an event space.

“It is going to be the hottest hotel in Brooklyn – no question in my mind,” said Edward Eschmann, a director in CBRE’s evaluation group, who is familiar with the project.

The boutique hotel will probably be ready for business by early 2015, both Eschmann and the developer’s spokesperson said; Figueroa, though doesn’t have financing yet for the project, Eschmann told TRD.

Previous reports had speculated that Figueroa would convert the bank itself into lodging; the next-door space, empty but part of the same plot, will let the developer build a much taller hotel.

Proximity to the Williamsburg Bridge and Peter Luger Steakhouse should help boost the hotel’s profile. The domed bank is one block south of the bridge, at Driggs Avenue.

Figueroa bought the building from HSBC in 2010 for $4.5 million; the makeover – estimated at about $3 million, according to reports – is nearly complete, Figueroa’s representative said. The developer expects to begin scheduling weddings, other celebrations and conference as soon as September, although everything is contingent on the careful restoration work going as planned.

“[Figueroa] is piece-by-piece hiring each person who is the best in their field,” to reproduce each element of the building, which is 137 years old, his spokesperson said.